


Parental Error

by TerminusVerso



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Babybones (Undertale), Children, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, because why not, dadmare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23127676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerminusVerso/pseuds/TerminusVerso
Summary: A collection of tales involving the many errors of the Multiverse and their abominations (children).
Relationships: Error404 & Error, Error404 & Nightmare, Errors and their abominations (children)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 89





	1. Untouchable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Children had never been in Error404's itinerary- Between destroying worlds and rebuilding AlphaTale, he was far too busy for such things. Yet, somehow, one came into his possession. An adorable little skeleton that everyone but he could touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felt like trying something different.

Children, spawn, the consequences of two monsters passionately combining their magic- They were not something Error planned on having. His love life was abysmal, and he had zero interest in establishing a romantic relationship with anyone, which made the appearance of his offspring all the more baffling.

This occurrence was impossible. _Unprecedented_! By all means, a soulless monster like himself should not be able to reproduce, sexually or otherwise. Yet...

Error glanced off to the side. Nightmare, his right-hand monster, sat on the floor of the Anti-Void; In the dark creature's arms was none other than a tiny black skeleton, Error's offspring. The child that, theoretically, should not exist. The being that defied the known laws of the universe- and magicked into existence sometime during the past three hours. 

It came as quite a surprise when he found the defenseless newborn abandoned in his domain. No one in their right mind would toss a child into the Anti-Void. Or the normal Void. Error tried to approach and inspect the little skeleton, but that had _adverse_ effects. The staticky wail of a baby had never sounded more terrifying. So, he called reinforcements: Nightmare.

Aided by the sludgy skeleton, it was determined that the child somehow belonged to him, as evident by their glitchy bones, blue tear marks, and constantly shifting voice. Aside from those features, the child looked very different from Error. Solid black bones. Red and yellow phalanges. Deep red eye sockets. Quite the stark difference compared to his white bones, blue fingertips, and normal eyes. 

Thankfully, Nightmare had yet to hound him about potential mothers. The likeliness of finding one was more than unlikely- A hopeless endeavor. Error rarely mingled with other monsters. He preferred the solitude provided by the Anti-Void. Not to mention, he had an extreme distaste for physical contact. A secret lover did not exist. Despite Nightmare's wishes that one did.

With a sigh, the glitched skeleton pondered, _What am I even to do with a child?_

Care for it? Raise it? An average parent would do those things, but Error... He couldn't even get near the child without them both glitching and lagging. No doubt a cruel joke by the Gods. _  
_

Error watched as Nightmare cooed at his offspring, wiggling his tentacles in front of its' face playfully. A squeal of delight escaped the child as it reached for the appendages. Never before had this side to the king of darkness been shown. For a cold, vicious ruler, the dark skeleton was oddly paternal. The other practically barged into his domain the moment mentions of a child reached his 'ears'.

While Nightmare had been a great help since the tiny creature's discovery, Error found himself silently seething. The offspring was _his_. It was supposed to laugh and smile at _him_. Not someone else. 

How could he achieve that, though?

 _Perhaps a new puppet is required_ , Error thought. _One I can use to care for my offspring with._ _One that I can use as a playmate for him._ _One easy to control so they will always be smiling at_ me _..._ _But who to choose?_

None of his current puppets were suitable for watching or protecting a child. Each had a varying level of lethality. Thus why they were chosen to be his puppet in the first place. A swap Sans may be fitting. However, those skeletons always had too much energy for their own good. The last thing he needed was a swap spontaneously combusting due to low magic/energy usage. A rare phenomenon, but it had happened before. Dust got everywhere. It took ages to clean the white powder off the equal white surface of the Anti-Void. And that would scar his offspring for life... if the explosion didn't kill them.

A fell? No. Definitely not. Too violent; Too crass. Classic? Laziness personified. Science? Insomniac with a caffeine addiction. Horror? Cannibalistic. Killer? A predisposition for stabbing. Dust? Also highly violent. Swapfell? One of the worst combinations between two AU types. Aftertale? ...No amount of child-like wonder or cuteness could cure that amount of depression and malice. Lus- Not in a million years.

Was there no one in the Multiverse worthy to care for his offspring?

" _Error!_ "

Error started, though he would never show it. 

"I'm right here, Nightmare. There is no need to shout." He stated, coolly.

"I have been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes!" Nightmare hissed. "Clearly a stronger approach was required."

Ten minutes. Had Error really been trapped in his thoughts for that long? "What is so important that you would disturb me?" Nightmare knew better than to bother him without reason. For all the other knew, Error was deciding which strings to pull to cause the Multiverse's next crisis. 

The dark skeleton sighed, pointing a tentacle at the baby snuggled in his arms. "The kid. What are you going to name him?"

"I haven't given it-" Error froze. _Him_. Nightmare said 'him'. His offspring was male. He internally facepalmed. Of course, Nightmare would know that- He was the one to dress the child, likely noticing the boy's gender then. So the name should be masculine. Something that screams "Child of the White Demon"; Powerful and fear-inspiring. Throughout history, human royalty had a strange tradition of naming one's male offspring after the most powerful and renowned male in the bloodline. Perhaps that custom fit in this instance. 

"Error." He tested the name. Yes, the name was his own, and naming one's child after themself seemed narcissistic- but it was a name that could one day strike fear into the Multiverse.

Nightmare gapped at him in shock, "Excuse me?"

"I am going to name him Error." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I have joined the dark side (Undertale fandom), naturally, the next step is creating a Tumblr for all my Undertale related shenanigans. So I did. And it has everything: terrible artwork, inane ramblings, hints about a particular story I may or may not start soon, etc. Plus, I have a lot of fun things (asks, complex storylines, and utter nonsense) planned for the future! :D
> 
> Feel free to stop by and ask any questions you have! Whether they involve "Means To An End" (or one of my Batman/Danny Phantom stories if you feel like a rebel), ships, other stories I have planned, or et cetera, it doesn't matter. As long as the question is reasonable and not too personal, I'll do my best to answer it. 
> 
> Tumblr: terminusverso.tumblr.com


	2. Untouchable (2)

It was a slow day in Haventale. The sun seemed to creep across the sky at a maddeningly sluggish pace; Thick cloud cover made the atmosphere feel drearier than usual. The alternate universe's resident castle of darkness and terror barely held life.

Dust, Killer, and Horror were either at their own AUs or wreaking havoc somewhere in the Multiverse. Likely at home, though, since no influx of negativity could be sensed. Not preferable, but at least they weren't doing something foolish. The last thing needed was more messes to clean. Or a sticky situation to save the lovable idiots from. Cross, the damned traitor, probably wormed his way into Dream's arms by now. That left only one monster in the palace- Nightmare winced at the sound of paper tearing. 

Well, one monster and a baby.

Error placed his son, who was also known as Error (despite strongly worded advice to name the boy something else), in Nightmare's care. An odd decision, but not one that he minded. His boys were much like children. In their own ways. Taking care of an actual child and not a full-grown skeleton running around with a knife should be child's play. Keyword: _Should_.

The gunk coated skeleton placed down his pen and shifted in the desk's chair, facing the direction the noise came from. A tiny skeleton dressed in a black and blue striped onesie sat on the nearby carpet. Shreds of paper laid in his multicolored clutches. 

Thankfully, they were nothing of importance. Anything significant was placed far, far out of the child's reach. Enough mistakes had been made to know it was necessary. _Very_ necessary.

Nightmare internally sighed. The baby was quickly proving to be a handful. More so than his boys. Error (the baby, not his superior) had taken to the destructive arts like a fish to water- Nothing could stop his fierce little hands. Loose threads on clothes and fabrics? Plucked. Arbitrary bits and bobs? Crushed by his, oddly and almost freakishly, strong grasp. Anything and everything within range? Chewed on, smashed, and torn to pieces. Nightmare thanked the divine forces responsible for ensuring Error did not give him the same treatment. Whether by pure luck or not, he would be eternally grateful the destructive baby handled him with such care... unlike the items unfortunate to fall into his grasp. The boy could not keep himself from destroying.

Not even Error- His superior? 404? Yes, 404 would do just fine. Calling them both the same name was getting old, and confusing, very fast- Not even 404 had this insatiable desire for mass destruction. 

The sound of another page being torn ripped through the air. The sheer lack of self-control was becoming a problem, too. 

Maybe if he could find where the mother hailed from, he could find a way to curb Error's destructive habits.

404 might swear to the Void and back that no mother exists, but the presence of Error says otherwise. Perhaps the boy's mother came from a violent AU? Somewhere chaotic. Somewhere where monsters strive for the brutal end of their enemies. Somewhere new and never heard of. A place where black skeletons were the norm, and had a monster capable of warming 404's stony heart.

It seemed impossible. A lover to the Multiverse's most mysterious and powerful skeleton. Yet... given the right circumstances, Nightmare could see the puppet master unintentional falling for a monster meant to be a new puppet for his army.

How to find them was another problem entirely, though.

404 refused to relay any details about his lover; Constantly denying their very existence. It frustrated Nightmare to no end. He just wished the other would show him some more faith. For thousands to billions of years, Nightmare has been his right-hand monster and, for some reason, 404 couldn't share knowledge of his lover with him. It felt insulting. Degrading. _Jealo_ \- It sewed seeds of doubt between them.

A gagging noise drew Nightmare from his thoughts. He instantly searched for the cause, only to notice a fist full of paper shreddings had made their way into Error's mouth. Panic ensued.

"No, no, no, don't put that in your mouth!" Nightmare jumped out of his chair and bolted to the boy, careful picking him up and pulling the hand/papers from his jaws. Error pouted, as much as a skeleton could, as his idea of a tasty snack was taken away. Tears welled in the corners of his eye sockets, however, he did not cry. A small blessing, Nightmare supposed.

The dark lord stared at the disappointed baby in his arms and thought one thing: _Today is going to be a long day._


	3. Untouchable (3)

Three hours into babysitting a child he would be stuck with for an undisclosed amount of time, and Nightmare was at his wit's end. Error kept finding trouble. From randomly teleporting - something a baby barely a day old should not be able to do - into his boys' rooms to getting a hold of horribly dangerous, misplaced objects, Nightmare had a hard time keeping up with the chaos. 

Killer's room was the worst out of them all. Knives- daggers, dirks, stilettos, switchblades, and shivs lined the walls and sprawled across the floor. A blade even dangled precariously from the headboard of his bed frame! And when Nightmare walked in the room only to see Error playing with a knife handle... The dark king had never been closer to a panic attack in his life. But the experience taught him something important. 

He desperately needed to go over weapon safety with Killer, Dust, and Horror.

The way they displayed their weapons was atrocious. Haphazardly laying them around- in their living space, no less! It was a wonder none of them hadn't lost a finger. Or worse. 

Nightmare had scolded himself. _Thoroughly_. After all, the boys were his responsibility, and he failed to notice how dangerous their living conditions had gotten. Dust had ten knives protruding from his pillow. Ten. Knives. That was nine too many.

Haventale was meant to be a safe place for them. A _haven_ they could escape to whenever their AUs became too hostile. Not a death trap. Which caused more worry, as Error had once again vanished into the castle's depths.

"Error!" Nightmare shouted, walking the dimly light halls, narrowly missing the edge of a decorative cabinet. The subsequent glare the furnishing received could have curdled milk. 

How many times had one of his boys almost hit, or fully collided with, that damn cabinet? Why did they even have it? It provided no purpose in their day to day lives. He should get rid of it. That way, it could never hurt his boys again. 

Glancing around the long, stone walls, a different thought spawned: Had the castle always been this dark? Sure, the king of nightmares was expected to dwell in a shadowy, ominous abode... but was it worth risking injury? Dust found trouble anywhere and everywhere. Horror could be an absolute klutz at night. Killer's knife collection was a hazard to the castle's residents, especially since their dark components made them blend into their surroundings. _  
_

What if- What if Error hurt himself because he couldn't see? What if something hurt Error because he hadn't noticed it?

There were so many ' _what if_ ' scenarios. 

_Note to self, steal more candles from Wicktale._

Nightmare went down the hall, opening door after door systematically, trying to locate his lost baby. Doors creaked and clicked shut. One by one, each room checked proved to be unoccupied. Quite an anxiety spiking discovery, in his opinion. Nothing could compare to the dread attached to the thought of telling 404 that he, Nightmare, his most faithful companion, lost his only son within the span of a few hours. 

With terror in the pit of his stomach, the dark skeleton continued through the castle until he reached the final wing. The west wing, where the bedrooms were. The terror increased tenfold as each room was inspected. His room? Void of anything moving or alive. Dust's? Empty. Killer's? Nothing. Error had, _thankfully_ , not returned to the small weaponry. The traitor's? Vacant of even the barest necessities. All that left was... Horror's.

Trepidation bit at his soul- something many would argue he did not have. Nightmare tentatively grasped the door handle. It turned with a _click_. Slowly pushing the door open, he peered inside. 

Sitting on the ground near Horror's bed was the missing glitchy skeleton.

Relief hit in an instant. 

_Oh, thank the stars_ , Nightmare thought. _I was beginning to wonder if I would ever find him._

He walked further into the room. Error, however, paid him no mind and seemed to be fascinated by something under the bed.

"Error, you must stop running off like that." Nightmare gently scolded him. _I don't think my heart can take it._

A frown tugged at his 'lips' when he noticed the boy refused to acknowledge his presence. Not a glace. Not a babble. Nothing was directed toward him to indicate his arrival was noticed. Instead, Error used his tiny arms and legs to move closer to the bed. The dark skeleton raised an invisible eyebrow as the baby made grabby hands at the darkness below. 

_Did Horror leave food under his bed again?_

Nightmare went over and crouched beside Error, inspecting the underside of Horror's bed. Something... _moved_. Which was not at all promising. Squinting, a faint wiggling could be made out. Worms? _It seems I'm going to need to sit them down for a talk about 'cleanliness' as well._

Suddenly, black strands sprung from the darkness, heading straight for Error. 

"NO!" With lightning-quick speed only a veteran parent could achieve, Nightmare scooped up Error before he could be attacked and stomped on the strings until they retreated. 

The glitchy skeleton was unperturbed by the event. Nightmare, on the other hand, wondered _what_ Horror left under the bed to make _that_ happen. He certainly doubted food was the cause. Hopefully, it wasn't a weird spider taken from another universe. If it was, Dust and Killer would try to burn the castle down (again), claiming that it belonged to the spider and everything must turn to ash- To ' _be rid of the demon and cleanse this accursed place_ ' as Dust might say.

That meant he needed to look for it. Great.

"Fu-" Glancing at Error, Nightmare hastily corrected himself, "f-flower."

He'd worry about that later. Right now, he needed to get Error settled into a room. Maybe put him down for a nap. 

Nightmare sighed once more, making his way to the door, but stopping right before he ran into someone. 

"404!" 


	4. Untouchable (4)

"404!" Nightmare said with a note of surprise. The white skeleton raised an invisible eyebrow at the name, looking at him questioningly. A deep purple blush crossed the dark king's cheeks. "Referring to both of you as ' _Error_ ' was becoming confusing."

404 nodded and took Error, who stared at him dubiously, from Nightmare's arms. "Hmm, I suppose it is a suitable substitute for my usual moniker." Pushing further into the room, he awkwardly cradled his son. "Never mind that, though." Nightmare watched as 404 glared distrustingly at every corner of the room.

The way the other inspected Horror's bedroom was beginning to make him paranoid. Aside from the odd creature underneath Horror's bed (that he already decided _not_ to mention), Nightmare couldn't find a reason for 404's behavior. Overprotectiveness? Maybe. The puppet master obviously cared for Error quite a lot, despite his cold exterior; It made sense considering he seemed to have a soft spot for children. Especially children he was related to. 

On rare occasions, 404 would regale Nightmare with tales of his brother- another Sans. The discovery had come as a shock. The dark skeleton had thought he was the only one born with a Sans as a brother instead of a Papyrus.

"Is something wrong?" Nightmare questioned, watching as 404 continued to scan the area. 

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. It very well could have been my imagination, though, I doubt it." The lighter-colored of the two turned around and walked out of the room. "I felt a _disturbance_. A glitch or virus. At first, I thought it was merely Error's magical signature... but it was tainted with an immense darkness." He turned to face Nightmare - Error curled against 404's chest, lessening his suspicious gaze - and continued. "Oddly enough, its presence has completely vanished and the barriers around Haventale are untouched. We should stay on guard, in case it hasn't left."

The dark king frowned. Someone or something broke into the castle? That should be impossible. 404 built the firewalls and protective barriers himself. They should be impenetrable; Massive blockades that not even the strongest Sans could break through. "That is worrying... I'll tell the boys to keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Nightmare stated, grievously. He took his own look around the room before turning to follow the glitching skeleton. 

Then Nightmare realized something. "I thought you couldn't hold Error. What changed?"

The other chuckled darkly. As he turned around, the guardian of negativity could have sworn he saw thin, nearly invisible strands glisten in the candlelight- Strings that were coiled around 404's body. Like how a puppet's strings hung off their frame. 

"I don't think you would approve of my methods. So, I will not tell you." 


End file.
